


Fight! Fight! Fight!; Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

by FaygoMayhem



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blind Date, Chill XV, Gladnis Week, M/M, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 08:56:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12931890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaygoMayhem/pseuds/FaygoMayhem
Summary: Ignis gets tricked into enjoying himself for an evening.





	Fight! Fight! Fight!; Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sauronix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauronix/gifts).



> This is really a combination of yesterday's and today's prompts, but we'll go with: Gladio and Ignis get tricked by Noctis and Prompto into going on a date. 
> 
> Written for the lovely and talented Sauronix, who's prompt suggestion for the week didn't make it into the final selection. (and if I'm just a derp who imagined a conversation....I dunno, have a thing anyway XD)
> 
> I played around a lot with the mechanics of the Totomostro mini-game, but we're going to pretend it's a thing, and that the matches last longer than a minute. Sorry it's not a real sport Nix, I don't know enough about them.

“Ignis, I need you to do me a favor.”

A long-suffering sigh, followed by a distinctive slurp of coffee echoed from the other end of the phone line as his advisor shuffled some papers around, likely trying his hardest not to scream.

“ _I was just about to leave, Noctis. What is that you need this time?”_

Noctis winced slightly at the irritated tone, signaling that this was likely the latest of a long string of tedious requests made of the overworked and over-stressed man that day. Poor guy didn’t know how to say no anyone, least of all his Prince, and Noctis couldn’t help but feel a little bad for once again taking advantage of his people-pleasing nature. At least this time it would be for his own good.

“So, you know how the Totomostro tour is in town today right? Well, Prompto and I have had tickets like for forever, so of course I had to get a call from dad demanding my presence at dinner tonight.”

“ _His Majesty is asking for you? What did you this time, Noct, and why wasn’t I informed?”_

“I dunno, he just said it was really important and muttered about how it was about time I start taking responsibilities into my own hands.”

Ignis made a soft noise of approval and Noctis let out the nervous breath he’d been holding. In the very long list of things that he absolutely hated doing, lying to his advisor was right at the top. The man was like a human polygraph and he could only be thankful he’d been smart enough to do this over the phone so Ignis wouldn’t start fishing for the truth out of his more obvious tells.

“ _So what exactly would like you me to do about that? I’m afraid my influence doesn’t carry as far as being able to tell the King when and where he’s able to make requests of his own son.”_

“Give me a little credit, Specs, I know I ask a lot of you but that’s going a little far even for me. I was just hoping you’d be able to take Prompto to the arena tonight in my place. He’s really looking forward to it but I know he isn’t gonna want to go alone.”

“ _Surely you can find him more suitable company than myself, I’m afraid I’m not exactly well versed in the area of blood sports_.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Totally Allergic to Even the Idea of Having A Good Time, Prompto only has a grand total of three and a half friends, if you count the stray cat he brings a tuna sandwich to every Tuesday afternoon.”

_“Why not just ask Gladio? I’m sure he’d be more than happy to attend.”_

“He has a hot date tonight.”

A burst of giggles came from the kitchen and Noctis had to cover the phone with his hand to keep them from carrying from over while shooting his companion a warning glare.

“ _I have a lot of work to do Noct_.”

“Please Specs? Prompto’s always talking about how he wished he had more of a chance to hang out with you when you’re not busy trying to bore us both to death with Council summaries or making my kitchen your bitch.”

Noctis could practically feel the other man’s resolve cracking as he took another agitated sip of coffee and grasped for anything that would get him out of having to attend the event.

“ _The reports…”_

“Ignis, do this for me and I swear to Shiva I’ll go down to the records office and pick up the meeting minutes _myself_.”

A heavy sigh.

3…2…1

“ _Fine_.”

“Thanks a lot Specs, I promise you won’t regret it.”

He hoped. If Ignis did end up regretting it Noctis was most certainly going to as well.

“Prompto already has the tickets, just text him when you’re close so you two can meet up. It starts around 7 but I’d get there at 6:30 just to be safe.”

“ _Very well. I’ll expect your thoughts on those reports when I come over Sunday, please don’t let me down.”_

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks again Specs. It means a lot to both of us.”

“ _You’re welcome, Highness. I’ve got to finish up here or I’m going to be late. I trust you to inform Prompto that I’ll be attending in your stead_.”

“Will do. Later.”

As he hung up the phone Prompto bounced over from the kitchen to give him a conspiratorial high-five. The blond had just finished his own similar conversation with Gladio a few minutes prior and was vibrating with excitement that Operation: Get Iggy His Own Life was finally underway after weeks of careful planning. Noctis only hoped that Ignis wouldn’t be too angry with him once he figured out what was going on, otherwise it was going to be purposely shrunken clothes and vegetable stew for the foreseeable future.

-

At 6:47 pm Gladio stood outside the steps to entrance of the Insomnia Superdome watching the crowds eagerly file in. Leave it to His Royal Laziness to show up at the last possible minute for absolutely everything, not that he could really complain since he was lucky to be here at all. He’d been crushed when he found out too late that the Totomostro Tour was coming to town and that the tickets had already been sold out. He owed Prompto the most ridiculous souvenir he could find for handing over his ticket when his parents had surprised him by coming back into town for the weekend.

He was scanning around for the familiar frazzled mess of midnight black permanent bedhead when he spotted a guy in a fancy three piece business suit sticking out like a sore thumb in a sea of sweatshirts and monster jerseys and Gladio had to laugh. Who the fuck dressed like that to sit outside in negative degree weather for hours and watch beasts tear each other to shreds?

The answer was Ignis.

To say Gladio was shocked when the exhausted looking advisor finally combed his way through the crowd of people to join him at the bottom of the steps was a bit of understatement. From everything he could gather, he would have figured the guy would’ve eaten his own shoes before prying Noctis off his tits long enough to attend such a ‘barbaric’ and ‘uncultured’ event.  Ignis seemed just as surprised to see him standing there and was looking around frantically as if it were some kind of mirage.

“Gladiolus? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Never woulda pegged you as a fan Iggy.”

Ignis frowned and pushed his glasses up a little higher on his face, looking embarrassed to be seen at the arena in the first place. “I’m not, exactly. Noctis called me earlier and asked that I attend the event with Prompto in his place after being called to dinner by the King.”

Gladio growled, internally cursing the meddling little shits in his head. “That’s funny, Prompto called me asking if I would go with Noct since his parents just so happened to randomly get back town tonight.”

The advisor visibly deflated and slapped a hand to his face in exasperation, letting out a frustrated groan. “My apologies for the trouble. Noctis has been rather insistent lately that I take some time off work to ‘learn how to have fun’ and it seems my constant refusal has him taking matters into his own hands.”

“He’s a brat and he shouldn’t be playing with your life like that, but he kinda has a point Iggy. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“I rushed through the remainder of my duties in order to be here tonight, but I suppose that now I can just return home and get some sleep. I apologize again for the deception, do enjoy the rest of your evening,” Ignis gave another regretful sigh and turned to walk away, already planning the detailed lecture he was going to give the Prince about not only lying and insinuating himself into _his_ personal life but wasting Gladio’s time as well.

Gladio fought with himself for all of five seconds before jogging over to place himself in the other man’s path. “Hey, uh, since we’re both already here and all you wanna just come watch it with me? They’re good seats, it’d be a shame to let em’ go to waste.”

Ignis hung his head, casting his eyes away from the Shield’s hopeful and earnest expression. “I’m afraid I’m not the best company for this sort of thing.”

“Noctis probably woulda just slept through most of it anyway, at least I know you’ll pretend to pay attention,” Gladio flashed his trademark disarming grin and Ignis felt himself melting a little. A night spent in the man’s carefree company wouldn’t exactly kill him, and if he were being honest was more than an exciting prospect.

“If you’re sure,” Ignis turned again to walk back toward the entrance to the arena, expecting that Gladio would fall in to step beside him, but was stopped by the man tugging him back by the collar of his thin suit jacket.

“You’re not really gonna wear that in are ya? It’s freezing, you’ll be a popsicle by the end of the first round.”

Ignis frowned petulantly and wrenched himself out of the grip, smoothing his jacket back down. “I didn’t have time to change before I left, I assure you that I’ll be fine.”

Really, he was probably going to be anything but fine if even the human space heater beside him was dressed snugly in a well-worn leather jacket and a backward black baseball cap with a silver stitched behemoth on the brim to protect the shaved back and sides of his head.

Gladio frowned and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket before turning around. “Follow me, I might have something warmer in my truck you can wear.”

“Won’t we be late?”

The larger man gave a nonchalant wave as he headed off toward the parking lot, “Eh, the first half hour’s gonna be nothing but introductions and sponsor advertisements anyhow, we won’t miss much. Plus it’ll give the concession lines a chance to thin out a bit.”

They crossed the lot in silence, neither used to conversing with the other about things that didn’t involve Noctis or their shared duty to the Crown. Thankfully it take them long to reach Gladio’s clunky, rusted, red death trap of a vehicle so the owner could busy himself rummaging around in the backseat.

Ignis crossed his arms over his chest and stared in wide-eyed trepidation as the other man dug through a sea of loose papers and old junk food wrappers to pull out a gym bag and start tearing though it as well. After a few minutes he was presented with a severely oversized navy hooded sweatshirt and a knit black skullcap with little flames sewn around the edge. He raised a questioning eyebrow and Gladio just threw the clothing at his head.

“Just put it on.”

He shrugged off his suit coat and laid it gently along the backseat before tugging the sweatshirt over his head. It was so large on his lithe frame that the hem was halfway down to his knees and there was enough extra fabric hanging down off each of his arms to easily house a small animal. He yanked the hat on passed his ears and huffed at his own reflection in the truck’s side mirror.

“I look ridiculous.”

Gladio was looking at him with a soft, strange, expression on his face when he turned back around that sent his nerves into a flurry of self-conscious panic until the man forced his gaze away and started rubbing the back of neck.

“Nah, you look cute. Come on, we better go.”

He was rushing off back to the arena before Ignis even had a chance to contemplate what he’d just said.

-

Gladio showed off their tickets as they got to the end of the dwindling line at the entrance of the arena and they were handed programs and ushered off to a special private row of seats near the ground floor. Noctis really had pulled out all the stops for them. Ignis sat and started leafing through the little pamphlet detailing the stats of all the competing monsters and credentials of their handlers while Gladio went off to pick up snacks and drinks.

He was just making it back to his seat with his arms stuffed full of a giant tub of popcorn and two large soft drinks when the crowd began to roar as an announcer took the floor to detail the start of the first match.

“I didn’t know what you like so I just got the most caffeinated thing they had,” Gladio muttered as he handed off one of the drinks. Ignis hummed his thanks as he took a small sip of the fruity and overly sugary concoction, trying not to make a face at it. He watched carefully as groups of monsters in separate cages were wheeled out onto the dirt floor of the arena, chattering and growling angrily in preparation for the fight. 

“So, would you mind refreshing my memory on how all of this works?” he asked, leaning closer so he could be heard over all the noise.

Gladio flushed and stuffed a large handful of popcorn in his mouth, talking in between chews. “So there’s four handlers, right? Each handler has a set of four different kinds of monsters to send out during each of the three rounds and the monsters fight until only one team is left standing. At the end of each round one handler is knocked out and the rest get to pick from a set of horns that’s a one use benefit that will do things like heal the monsters, boost their attack,…stuff like that; with the winner picking first and the losers going for what’s left. People in the audience bet on the groups of monsters they think are gonna win and the handler who’s monsters are most successful gets a cut of the profit. It’s pretty straightforward.”

“I see. I take it the power levels and general fighting conditions of the monsters listed in this book are meant to influence bets?”

“Yup! Still a pretty tricky game to play since you never really know how the monsters are gonna perform. A well-coordinated, but lower level group of Reapertails could possibly take out a bigger, stronger monster; or one thick skinned Garula could wipe the floor with a whole mess of smaller guys, even severely outnumbered. It’s where the excitement comes from.” Gladio devoured another handful of popcorn and they both turned their full attention back to the fight unfolding on the floor.

A pack of Sabertusks faced off against a couple Hundlegs, a pair of Dualhorns, and one very pissed off Anak Stag.  The Sabertusks surrounded the Dualhorns, nimbly baiting them and dodging out of the way of their charging attacks while the long-legged Anak easily trampled over the first Hundlegs to the delight of the roaring crowd. The second Hundlegs was speared by one of the rampaging Dualhorns as its partner was taken down by the Sabers. The Anak picked off two of the weakened Sabertusks before getting stabbed in the back by the remaining Dualhorn, leaving the rest of them to take flying leaps at its vulnerable neck.

Gladio leapt out of his seat with a mighty cheer as the Anak was gored, quite effectively spilling the remainder of his popcorn all over a very irritated Ignis and garnering strange looks from other people in the surrounding area.

“Shit, sorry Iggy,” he sheepishly sat back down and immediately started brushing off the popcorn that pooled in the sweatshirt near the other man’s lap. Ignis flushed a bright red, thankfully mostly hidden by the hat, and grabbed hold of Gladio’s hand to still it. Then he quickly stood up to get rid of the remaining kernels and salt. At least there was one good thing about the stupidly large sweatshirt.

He sat back down as the two Sabertusks left standing teamed up to take down the Dualhorn. There was an intermission as the arena was cleared of the monster corpses and multiple people in the crowd stood to go place new wagers or collect refreshments. Gladio recovered from his faux pas and turned toward Ignis who was again flipping through the information pamphlet with growing interest.

“So, what do you think?”

Ignis didn’t look up as he read over the monster statics for the next match, discounting the handler with the Hundlegs who’d already been eliminated. “I think that it’s quite….gruesome, and I feel a bit sad for the creatures. However I won’t deny that certain elements of it are rather exhilarating.”

“That sounds like Ignis speak for ‘it’s awesome’.”

“Take it as you will.”

“So, who do you think will take the next round?” Gladio opened his own book and flipped to the stats for the second match, a pair of Yellowteeth vs. a Garulessa vs. a Gigantoad.

“I’m not much of betting man,” Ignis deadpanned matter-of-factly, taking another sip of his drink.

“Oh come on ‘master strategist’, you must have some idea.”

Ignis sighed heavily and crossed his arms. “Fine, the Yellowteeth.”

“Really? The other two are a lot more powerful and that handler picked the stupid horn that only cures status effects.”

“Sometimes your greatest weapon isn’t what you have, but what your opponents _don’t_ ,” Ignis sat up straighter in his seat as the monsters were rolled in for the start of the fight.

“You’re gonna have to explain that one.”

Ignis only shook his head and shushed him as the monsters were released. Right away the pair of Yellowteeth split off and each landed a single well-placed bite to the throats of the Garulessa and Gigantoad before being easily shaken off and tossed to the sides of the ring. The handler of the Garulessa blew his horn, sending the beast into a rage that had it dropping all of its defenses and charging carelessly into the Gigantoad that took the hit in the stride before slapping the rampaging creature with its long tongue.

“Remind me to go over your battle assessment skills next time we train,” Gladio laughed as beasts faced off, snaking one of his massive arms around the back of Ignis’ chair.

“Gladio, what are you doing?”

“I-uh….there’s some popcorn in your hood. Was just getting it for you,” to prove his point Gladio dipped his hand into the hood of the sweatshirt around Ignis’ neck to pull out a piece of popcorn and toss it in his mouth. Ignis gave him a disgusted look and went back to watching the fight.

 The Yellowteeth didn’t even seem to be in the running as the larger creatures easily threw them off every time they re-joined the fight to place superficial bites on legs and hindquarters.

The Gigantoad and Garulessa faced off in a fearsome match. The reckless elephant-like beast went trampling into the toad over and over, glancing off the smacks of its tongue like they were nothing. Just as it looked like it was finally about to go down the handler of the Gigantoad blew his horn and the creature was rejuvenated. It dodged away from the Garulessa with a quick hop and sent it careening into one of the Yellowteeth, easily flattening it. The remaining Yellowtooth howled and tore into the Garulessa’s flank. The wound slowed the already lumbering beast even further and few more well-placed smacks of the Gigantoad’s tongue were enough to bring it down for good.

“That Yellowtooth is toast, it’s on its last legs,” Gladio commented as the toad turned its attention to the last foe. The next few minutes of the fight were a blur of movement as the Gigantoad hopped around the ring trying to catch the limber Yellowtooth with its tongue. Finally, a hit landed and the beast was sent flying into the side of the arena. It struggled slowly back to its feet as the toad waddled forward to finish it off. Its massive tongue lolled out of his head, ready for a deathblow, when suddenly it collapsed.

The fight was called, much to the descent of the crowd, and Ignis smirked triumphantly while pushing his glasses up on his nose.

“Okay…What. The. HELL? How?” Gladio screamed, glowering over at an obviously gloating Ignis.

“The bite of a Yellowtooth is incredibly venomous, forced faster into the bloodstream by all the running and hopping of its opponents. A single healing wave couldn’t do anything do stop the damage the venom had already done. By picking the status effect horn the Yellowtooth handler took away the only thing that could cure it,” Ignis carefully explained.

“I thought you said that you weren’t into this sort of thing,” the larger man grumbled, pouting.

“I’m not. I have, however, seen an abundance of nature documentaries on the wildlife of the Duscae region,” Ignis admitted a little timidly, sinking back into his seat.

Gladio stood and forcefully grabbed Ignis’ hand, pulling him out of the chair and starting to drag him up the steps. “Alright smarty, time to put your money where your mouth is. Let’s go bet.”

“I’m not about to blow my hard earned salary on some trivial game, Gladio,” Ignis protested as he was dragged over to the betting counter.

“Then put _my_ money where your mouth is. Just pick one,” the larger man urged, gesturing to the display detailing the monsters for the last fight.

“The Coeurl.”

“You sure? The odds are pretty low.”

Ignis scoffed, “Of course I’m sure, Coeurls are some of the most intelligent beasts to roam the planet.”

“Alright then,” Gladio filled out a gambling ticket at the counter with Ignis looking nervously over his shoulder, then stood in line to hand it over.

“Gladio, that’s an awful lot of money.”  

“Does it change your mind?”

“No, but don’t blame me if you spend the next year living off ramen and dry white toast.”

Gladio laughed, handing the ticket and his bank card over the counter, “I’m probably gonna do that anyway.”

Once everything was settled the pair took their seats again as the caged Coeurl and its opponent, the lobster-like Karlabos were wheeled into the arena. The cages opened and both creatures were released. The large crustacean menacingly prowled around the sides of the arena while the Coeurl automatically sat down on its haunches and began to lick its paw, completely uninterested.

“The fucking thing is takin’ a nap Iggy! What are you doing to me?”   

“Teaching you just how dangerous _gambling_ can be.”

Gladio smacked a hand over his eyes, unable to watch as the Karlabos stalked forward, pincers clacking, toward the lazing Coeurl and completely missed the way one of its electrified whiskers came up to slap the predator away as the cat dodged to the side like lightning.

Ignis chuckled as he was smacked in the shoulder, then winced as the Coeurl was knocked aside by a well-aimed jet of water. It remained prone for a good few seconds, and the handler of the Karlabos blew a horn to increase its attack and let it get a few good hits in with its claws.

The Coeurl let off a blinding flash of electricity that sent the attacker spinning off back toward the center of the ring and it stood and shook itself off before launching back in and diving at its exposed underbelly with its claws. The Karlabos flailed and caught the Coeurl in one of its pincers throwing it across the arena.

A horn blew, and green sparks surrounded the cat as it laid back down and carefully observed the movements of its opponent, whiskers sparking dangerously. The Karlabos charged forward and the Coeurl dodged, whiskers catching on its flank, and the crustacean fell forward. The Coeurl sat, its whiskers levitating into the air before it let out a massive burst of electricity. The Karlabos shrieked and went completely slack, defeated.

Gladio and Ignis both cheered and leapt out of their seats smiling. A large arm snaked around Ignis’ shoulders and crushed him into Gladio’s massive chest, squeezing tightly. Ignis laughed and playfully tried to squirm away.

“Gladio please, I can’t breathe.”

“You’re a fucking genius Iggy! I’m so happy I could kiss you right now!”

“Umm,” Ignis went completely still and Gladio released him with a curse.

“So, uh….wanna come see what I won?”

“Lead the way,” Ignis picked up their empty tub of popcorn and drink cups and responsibly disposed of them while Gladio went to the prize counter to collect his winnings. It amounted to a rather large sum of Crowns and a small box that Gladio shoved nervously in Ignis’ face.

“Here, figured you should have this since you’re the brains of the operation and all.”

Ignis gasped as he removed a very stylish and expensive looking silver chain bracelet from inside the box, “Oh my. Gladio, are you sure?”

“Yeah. Probably too small for me anyhow,” he rubbed the back of his neck again as Ignis beamed at him. He rolled up one of the sweatshirt’s massive sleeves and held out his wrist.

“Would you mind?”

Flushing, Gladio took the bracelet and delicately clasped it around Ignis’ wrist, “Looks good on you.”

Ignis took a second to admire the simple piece of jewelry before lowering the sleeve back down, “We should go before the cleaning staff throw us out.”

“Right.”

They walked side by side on the way back to Gladio’s truck, incredibly close to each other. Ignis collected his jacket and went to pull off the borrowed clothes but Gladio just shrugged him off.

“It’s still cold, you should probably keep them on, yeah? You want a ride home?”

Ignis glared at the old truck that was practically falling apart and shoved his hands in the pocket of the sweatshirt, “I think I’ll take my chances with the homeless people on the subway.”

Gladio laughed good-naturedly, “So you are a gambling man after all?”

“It would seem so. Thank you for tonight Gladio, truly. I had a surprisingly pleasant evening.”

“Yeah, me too.  You’re a lot of fun when you loosen up a little Iggy.”

Ignis shrugged his shoulders shyly and Gladio rubbed one of his massive biceps, trying to think of something else to say. Truthfully he didn’t want the night to be over.

“So….would you maybe want to do this again sometime? Like, go out…..with me?” Gladio winced at how awkward and stupid he sounded, but Ignis smiled sweetly up at him.

“I think I’d like that.”

“Great! So….I’ll call you sometime?”

“I’m usually home around eight most evenings.”

“Okay, cool.”

“It’s getting late, I should be off.”

“You sure you don’t want a ride?”

Ignis shook his head, laughing, “Quite positive. Goodnight Glaido.”

“Night Iggy.”

Gladio watched him walk away for a while then climbed into the truck, smiling like an idiot. He’d just started the engine when Ignis came back and started knocking on the window, slightly out of breath. He rolled the window all the way down and poked his head out.

“Iggy?”

“I believe you forgot something.”

“What-“

Ignis stepped closer to the window and kissed him sweetly. It didn’t last more than a few seconds, but it was probably the best kiss he’d ever had. Before he could think Ignis pulled away again.

“Now we can say goodnight properly.”  

“Y-yeah, Goodnight,” Gladio stammered, still in shock. Before he could do anything stupid, like try to yank the other man inside through the window, he shifted into reverse and started to back out. Ignis smiled and waved at him as he went, and Gladio adopted a dopey grin that lasted until he’d gotten about halfway home and was hit with a painful realization….

Noctis was going to be _insufferable_ after this.

 


End file.
